OpenRFA has launched.

J.Merlan May 8, 2017

It has been about a month since OpenRFA.org went live and we already have over 70 users registered. As we continue to improve our web app, we hope that traction increases as users begin to spread the word about the collaborative shared parameters initiative. So, hats off to you, early adopters. Thank you for the support and please continue to spread the word!

There have been a few individuals that have been engaging the community and proposing parameters which is a great start! We highly encourage more interactivity from everyone in the community. If you don't like a parameter, tell the community why and get the discussion started! Remember, these parameters are collaborative and we need you to tell us what is working and what isn't. It is important to remember that master shared parameters hasn't worked in the past because they weren't collaborative - let's work together on this new set of shared parameters and do it right.

We have been speaking with several of the BIM community's movers and shakers including Michael Kilkelly of ArchSmarter and David Rushforth of Rushforth Projects. So far, the feedback has been mostly positive and supportive.

Although the concept of open source shared parameters has been well-received, we can all agree that adoption of a standardized set of parameters would be disruptive to the industry which will slow down adoption. This is mostly due to the fact that most large organizations have already spent years developing their Revit libraries which typically include fully built shared parameters definitions files.

OpenRFA is beginning to open up conversations with some of these firms, organizations, and individuals to help usher them into adoption. Moving forward, we will continue to do whatever we can to get these firms who have established BIM standards to convert to the AECO industry's first set of collaborative shared parameters.